Family Survives High-Speed Crash Caused by Hogs

By ELVIRA SAKMARI and RAY VILLEDA NBCDFW.com
updated 3/28/2013 11:17:51 PM ET

A North Texas family wants everyone to know about the real dangers of
driving along one of Texas' newest toll roads — and it has nothing to
do with the 85-mph speed limit.

Jackie Anderson, of Mount Vernon, says her family was driving on Texas
Highway 130 near Austin at about midnight last Friday when they hit 25
to 30 feral hogs crossing the highway.

"All of a sudden, it seems like I was 100 feet when I noticed them — a
pack of wild feral hogs," said her husband, David Anderson.

Their SUV rolled 10 times.

"We must have rolled and flipped for 300 feet before the car landed on
[the] driver's side," David Anderson said.

The family, including their 5-week-old granddaughter survived the
crash, but one of the family's dogs died. Another was lost but found
four days later with a broken leg.

Jackie Anderson, who was in the front passenger seat, said she
remembers thinking she wouldn't live through the crash. She sustained
serious injuries — a concussion, seat belt burn and soft-tissue
injuries all over her body.

Jackie Anderson said she wants Texas drivers to know about the very
real feral-hog problem and questions why the state hasn't done more to
warn drivers of the danger or try to keep them from entering the
roadway.

The Andersons said they only saw one sign on the road, near Lockhart.
More lighting and signage could have helped, they said.

"Knowing that I could have seen one light bar that said, 'Careful,
feral hogs,' I would've taken a different route," Jackie Anderson
said. "It just makes me sick."

There have been several reports of drivers hitting hogs and deer on
the Texas toll road, which has the nation's fastest speed limit, since
it opened in October.

The Lockhart Police Department released video in October that showed a
pack of feral hogs roaming near the highway.

NBC 5 DFW reported on the danger when the hogs cross the road at night
and a program that pays hunters to kill feral hogs.

In October, SH 130 Concession Co., the private company that runs the
41-mile portion of Texas Highway 130, said it would put up temporary
electronic message boards warning of wildlife in the area until
permanent signs could be installed.

The Texas Department of Transportation said the safety of drivers is
its top priority.

"Wildlife roadway crossings are a global problem. But we have already
taken some measures to protect drivers on this highway. We currently
have 'Wildlife Crossing' signs posted along the ROW of this highway,"
agency spokeswoman Veronica Beyer said in a statement Thursday.

"We continue to work with the Concession company to identify what
additional measures may be appropriate to improve driver safety. It's
also important that drivers pay close attention and focus 100 percent
of their attention on driving."
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51368202/n.../#.UVWB7oZOg2o

Here, a person purporting to be Jackie Anderson explains how it was
not the fault of her husband in a comment to another source:

"You would expect if a state set the speed limit on an approved
highway that it would be safwe to drive on. Many people have had
wrecks - three the first day it opened. I believe the ones who are
"stupid" would be the greedy people who put a highway in the middle of
a hog field with no barriers and no warning system. This toll road is
supposed to be a safer alternative due to less traffic, hence the
approval of the high speed. If you are not from a rural area you do
not expect to drive up on packs of wild hogs."

She elaborates in another comment:

"It is not that we chose to drive 85 mph. We made a decision to take a
road with less traffic which was deemed to be safer than 35. We made
the decision to drive at night to be less disruptive to the baby a
travel while she normally slept. Encountering wildlife is not a common
occurance everywere and if you are not from an area it is normal you
actually don't worry about it. In hindsight, it was a bad idea, but it
was actually carefully thought out. The toll road authoirity does have
the obligation to warn it's customers and they failed. In the days
since the wreck they have now found it necessary to put out signage
and are trying to come up with a permanent warning system. This alone
makes my speaking out worthwhile. I would never knowingly put my
family in an unsafe situation. I am a very responsible person with an
almost flawless driving record. Our family is the most important thing
in my life - which is why I found it necessary to warn other
families."
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Nor...200529851.html
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- gpsman